CRM - March 2008 - (Page 21)

Insight crunching and more for creativity. In the same respect, automation has reduced reliance on human input. “Software has replaced the left side of our brains,” Pink In the face of new challenges, design and creativity are seen as key factors says. Instead of an accountant charging $150 to $400 or more per hour, software approaches have to tap into the right- can help you file taxes for as low as $14.95. disappointing holiday season. While retail now focuses on delivering Predictions of limited growth brain ones—creative, intuitive, imagistic, in 2008. And yet the vibe at the and contextual. The left brain, Pink says, the best customer experience, behindNational Retail Federation’s “is 100 percent, absolutely necessary—but the-scenes analytical work still fuels the creative components. Retailers recent convention was upbeat, with more it’s no longer sufficient.” Others “get” performance managethan 17,000 attendees in New York being agree that the primary differen- The primary tiator will be creating a valuable differentiator will ment—gauging step-by-step met with one request: “Dream Big.” performance and achieving Last year’s show hit on retail’s technical customer experience. be creating a goals. But they don’t know what Pink attributes the situation and strategic issues, but this year’s left little doubt that design and creativity will be to three “A” factors: Abundance, valuable customer the numbers mean or how to improve, Aberdeen’s Keene says. key factors in adapting a century’s worth Asia, and Automation. “The experience. According to her firm, 45 perof traditional processes. “Retail is one of level of material well-being deep the oldest industries,” explains Jeanette in the middle class is shocking,” he says, cent of retailers admit they can’t generKeene, senior research associate at the illustrating his point with the simple, but ate valid results due to incomplete data; Aberdeen Group.“They like to stick to the necessary, toilet brush. To escape the toilet- 43 percent don’t have data clean enough traditional business practices that have brush monotony, he says, you have to ei- for analysis; and 41 percent fail to intealways worked for them.” She adds, ther make a leap in toilet-brush technol- grate their data in a central database, “They’ve got more steps to deal with than ogy to create “the iPhone of toilet brushes,” making it difficult to gain a complete view other industries. If you change one small eliminate the need for toilet brushes, or of the company or deeper insight into the thing, it affects the whole supply chain.” compete on aesthetics to hit the emo- demands of the customer. Retailers are But the industry has grown and competi- tional core to deliver what Tim Gunn, aware of this problem: Aberdeen reports tion is fierce, from brick-and-mortar loca- chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne and that 47 percent of them intend to invest tions to online to multichannel. The pres- an original cohost of television’s Project in business intelligence software this year. In the end, though, the trick will be Runway, calls an “irresistible product.” sure to innovate is undeniable. Pink’s “Asia” is a nod to offshore out- adding the new techniques without sacAuthor Dan Pink (A Whole New Mind) describes the state of retail by comparing sourcing: repetitive or routine tasks dele- rificing the old lessons of experience. “I business processes to brain functionality. gated overseas, where labor is significantly wouldn’t recommend retailers shift from Traditional business operations have long cheaper. (See “Re-shoring Contact Cen- one side of the brain to the other,” Keene focused on left-brain activities—logical, ters,” page 18.) Companies are relying less says. “It’s really the holistic brain. You’ve linear, sequential, and analytical. New on domestic employees for number- got to have both together.” —Jessica Tsai ON THE SCENE Retailers Dream Big A from the top and permeate every facet of a business. According to “The Top Seven Customer Service Processes, 2008 to 2011,” a new study released by Gartner, many businesses are still failing to heed the vital call to make customer service a primary goal. Customer service is evolving, and while many leading companies have thrived by rethinking their approach in the last decade, myriad others have not, says Michael Maoz, a Gartner vice president and the report’s author. www.destinationCRM.com • SFA for the Consumer Goods Industry Comes of Age The market for sales force automation (SFA) solutions among the consumer goods industry remains steady and has matured over the past year, according to new research from Gartner. The firm cites the consolidation of vendors, introduction of interoperable components via services-oriented architecture, and investment in predictive modeling and optimization as positive trends for SFA. It also notes that SFA is primarily being used by consumables companies, and has been slower to be adopted by makers of durable and semidurable goods. Among 13 vendors surveyed in the report, “MarketScope for Sales Force Automation in the Consumer Goods Industry, 2H07,” CAS leads the way as the only one to be ranked Strong Positive, with Oracle close behind as the lone Positive ranking. • Speech Self-Service a Top Priority in 2008 Speech self-service is quickly becoming an essential application for any organization interested in delivering the best customer service possible. In fact, the technology ranks as the top strategic action in 2008 for companies considered Best-in-Class, according to a new benchmark study of more than 300 companies by Aberdeen Research. (Aberdeen assigns the “Best-in-Class” label to the top 20 percent of companies in a given category.) (For the full stories and more news, visit www.destinationCRM.com.) CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2008 21 http://www.destinationCRM.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - March 2008

CRM - March 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Re-shoring Contact Centers NetSuite’s Sweet Ride Takes Another Turn SaaS X.0? destinationCRM Dashboard Retailers Dream Big Detroit: Driven to Distraction Required Reading The Markets Within the Masses In Search of... Selling CRM to Your Sales Force Quixtar’s Quick Fix Travelocity’s New Traveling Companion Chasing Down First-Call Resolution Governing Better Marketing Secret of My Success Re: Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - March 2008

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